


Five Telepaths Talia Met After Leaving Psi Corps.

by Adi



Category: Babylon 5
Genre: AU, five things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-07
Updated: 2010-05-07
Packaged: 2017-10-09 08:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adi/pseuds/Adi





	Five Telepaths Talia Met After Leaving Psi Corps.

1,

Dirty blond hair, frightened blue eyes and Talia felt her heart break into a million pieces. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old and already so alone.

"Her mother searched us out when she realized she was a telepath. She has other children so she couldn't come with her." Brianna said, explaining why Talia had been called down to this dusty mostly empty storage room in Brown Sector by the telepath underground railroad. "We have a family for her on one of the outer colonies, but the person taking her there has been delayed and my transport is leaving in thirty minutes. There's no one else and it's only for a few hours…" The girl was standing next to a wall, looking the floor, following an invisible line around the room, occasionally looking back up at the women.

It took Talia a few moments to realize that a response was required from her end. "Of course," she replied and took the small bag that apparently came with the girl. A minute later and Brianna was gone, she hadn't even said good-bye to the girl. Talia realized suddenly that she didn't even know her name. The girl was looking at her now, waiting.

"I'm Talia," the girl jumped a bit, as though she'd already gotten used to the silence. "What's your name?"

It happened in slow motion. The quiver in the chin that moved up to the bottom lip. She was fighting it, Talia could see, fighting it as much as any scared lonely child could, which wasn't very well. The nose scrunched up and her nostrils flared as she started to hyperventilate. Then came the tears and Talia was right next to her holding close as the girl cried loudly, openly, grasping at the only comfort she had. They sat that way for a very long time.

Walking into their quarters Talia was surprised to see Susan there. She thought she would be on duty until morning; she had to glance at the clock to realize that it was indeed morning, and Susan was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"What did they need you for?"

It happened in slow motion. The quiver in the chin that moved up to the bottom lip, her arms reached forward and immediately Susan was there, holding her close as she cried for a little girl, at the life she lost before she got a chance to live it, and the identity she would probably forget before she reached adulthood.

It didn't occur to her until much later that she still didn't know her name.

2,

Her eyes were bleeding, her ears were ringing, her knees were weak and she was pretty sure that Susan was the only thing holding her up.

She realized she was trembling only after someone had led her to a chair and given her some water to drink. She realized it because she spilled half of it on her lap. John steadied her hand and helped her.

"So m-much p-pain," she stammered. "You have to help them."

She insisted on staying until they cut Carolyn from the wires she had joined with. She followed the cryo unit to storage and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She had felt the darkness touch her mind; it knew her, it knew her by name.

"Talia?" she moved away before Susan could touch her, she didn't want, to defile her with the tar she felt covering her skin. "Talia?" She wasn't hurt, just confused.

"I n-need a shower," Susan nodded and moved aside.

The shower helped her feel clean. Susan's touch soothed away the stutter. The memory of pain would fade but for the rest of her life occasionally later at night the darkness would whisper in her mind and call her by name.

3,

There was no mistaking the identity of woman in front of her. The fact that it shouldn't be possible for this woman to be in front of her was beside the point. This was Babylon 5, impossible things tended to happen on a fairly regular basis. Still… this particular woman…

"Susan isn't here," it was the first thing she could think to say. Susan and John were both on duty tonight, it was someone's Day of the Dead, or something similar. She felt no threat from this woman, after all why would Susan's mother hurt her.

"I know." Sofia smiled and Talia's heart skipped a beat, she understood now, the hint of terror Susan felt whenever she looked in the mirror.

"You look just like her," she whispered. Sofia laughed, and it was a laugh almost entirely unlike Susan's.

"I know," she said, moving forward, arm out towards Talia. "Come now, make us some tea, we have much to talk about."

4,

The Zocalo was crowded but when Byron and his followers walked the crowd parted in front of them like the red sea. John and Susan watched from the catwalk as they made their way through the crowd. Their bird's eye view allowed them to guess where they were headed.

Talia was browsing a selection of trinkets at one of the kiosks when the group caught up with her.

John and Susan watched them. There was a short exchange of words and then turned and followed Byron. Susan felt her heart drop into her stomach, John felt her tense and took her hand in his. Her fear eased slightly when Talia looked up, caught her eyes and smiled reassuringly, but it wasn't until that evening when Talia walked into their quarters looking tired but relaxed that Susan could truly breathe again. She didn't like Byron, didn't like the way he looked at her, didn't like the way he looked at Talia.

"He just wanted to talk," Talia reassured them both. "I told him I couldn't help him." She pulled Susan close kissed her softly. "He seems sincere enough, but he's got Bester written all over him and I'd rather not get involved with him anymore than I absolutely have to." She walked over to John and rested her hand on his chest. "Besides, I have an Alliance to build."

5,

She didn't expect it to hurt this much. The Minbari had insisted on a natural process and she had agreed…. But she hadn't expected it to hurt this much.

"Just one more push Talia," she couldn't tell if the voice was in her head or coming from behind her, or if it was Susan or John speaking, but she listened because the voice said she could do this.

One final scream and push and it was over.

"She's perfect Talia, she's absolutely perfect," that was John, that was definitely John and definitely not in her head. "Have you decided on a name?"

They'd been throwing around ideas for months but it had been decided that the one actually giving birth would be the one picking the final name. John had grumbled, but only for a little while. She hadn't told them, but she had already decided on a name, had picked it before the girl had even been conceived.

The baby girl was placed on her chest. Red, and covered in goop, she was the most beautiful baby Talia had ever seen.

"Yes," she said, still breathing hard. "If Susan doesn't mind… I want to call her Sofia." She looked up at Susan who was staring the baby with a look of wonder.

"I don't mind," she choked out. "I don't mind at all."


End file.
